Ford in April made the shock announcement that by 2020 the only passenger cars in its lineup will be the Mustang and the Focus Active soft-roader based on the recently redesigned fourth-generation Focus.
Ford planned to import the Focus Active from a plant in China but the 25-percent tariff introduced in July on vehicles imported from China caused the automaker to cancel the plan in August, meaning the Mustang could soon be the only model in the Blue Oval's lineup that isn't an SUV or utility. Ford has already stopped advertising for the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus.
Following Ford's decision not to import the Focus Active from China, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to claim that the tariffs on Chinese imports mean the Focus Active can now be built in the United States.
“This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!,” he said in a tweet posted Sunday.
“Ford has abruptly killed a plan to sell a Chinese-made small vehicle in the U.S. because of the prospect of higher U.S. Tariffs.” CNBC. This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2018
Ford responded the same day in a statement to The Detroit News that it won't build the Focus Active in the U.S. as the expected yearly sales of less than 50,000 would make the project unprofitable.
The Chinese plant isn't the only location where Ford will build the fourth-generation Focus so the automaker has alternative options for sourcing the Focus Active variant for the U.S. market, should the vehicle still be planned for our market.
